Guthrie wants to stay in KC

Righty Jeremy Guthrie, who makes his next start Sunday at Chicago, knows he is auditioning for next year -- not only with the Royals but for any club looking for starting pitching and most are.

Guthrie, who can be a free agent after the season, had an awful start to this season with the Rockies, where he was their season-opening starter. Guthrie went 1-5 with a 9.50 ERA in nine games, seven of them starts, at Coors Field.

The Royals acquired him July 20 in a trade for lefty Jonathan Sanchez.

After losing his first three starts with Kansas City, Guthrie is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his past six starts. He was the only Royals pitcher to pick up a victory in the four-game series against the Rangers, holding them to two runs and five hits over seven innings on Sept. 4.

"It's been a good opportunity for me," Guthrie said. "I said it from day one, and I'll continue to say it. To be able to come here, for them to trade for me, was a huge opportunity. I'm trying to do the best I can with it."

He has made it clear he would like to return to Kansas City and likes pitching in spacious Kauffman Stadium. The Royals plan on waiting until the end of the season before opening up trade discussions with Guthrie and his agent.

-----------------------------------------------

MLB Team Report - Kansas City Royals - NOTES, QUOTES

--C Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer on his first at-bat and went 2-for-3 Friday night in the 7-5 victory over the White Sox to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Perez is 15-for-43 in his career-high hitting streak.

--RHP Kelvin Herrera picked up the victory Friday with a scoreless eighth inning, walking one and striking out one. In his past 16 outings, Herrera has a 1.46 ERA, yielding just six runs in 30 1/3 innings.

--RHP Greg Holland allowed a hit but struck out the side in the ninth to protect the 7-5 lead and log a save. Holland is 12-for-12 in save situations since closer RHP Jonathan Broxton was traded to the Reds for two prospects on July 31.

--CF Lorenzo Cain had his first multi-homer game Friday. His two-run homer off White Sox closer Addison Reed proved the difference in a 7-5 triumph to open a six-game trip. Cain also homered in the fifth inning off starter Francisco Liriano.

--RHP Luis Mendoza gave up five runs on 10 hits, three of them home runs, in 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision Friday to the White Sox. Mendoza had yielded just 11 home runs in 134 2/3 innings, the sixth-fewest home runs among pitchers working a minimum of 130 innings, before the game. He has three straight no-decisions and a loss since his victory on Aug. 17.

BY THE NUMBERS: 1,000 -- For the fifth consecutive season and the seventh time in franchise history, the Royals pitchers have struck out more than 1,000. The club record is 1,153 in 2009.

--OF David Lough (slight right hamstring strain) did not play Sept. 6 and 7.

--CF Jarrod Dyson (strained right latissimus dorsi) did not play Aug. 30, and he hasn't started since. He has appeared as a pinch runner twice in September.

--2B Chris Getz (fractured left thumb) went on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 18, the same day he underwent season-ending surgery.

--RHP Felipe Paulino (torn ligament in right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 7 with a strained right groin, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 14. He made a rehab start for Class AA Northwest Arkansas on June 20, but he left after three innings and 54 pitches when he felt pain in his elbow. He underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in early July.

--LHP Danny Duffy (torn ulnar collateral ligament) went on the 15-day disabled list May 14, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 14. He underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery June 13.

--RHP Blake Wood (sore right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 22. He underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery May 24.

--RHP Joakim Soria (Tommy John surgery in April 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 3. He will miss the season.